As he does each year, the United States’ arguably most successful investor, Warren Buffett, shared his wisdom and observations at this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting. Buffett is known not just for his investment prowess but for his ability to pare down his insights into information the average investor can understand.   Wealth…

  Long-term care continues to be a challenging issue in the U.S. It appears the second wave of baby boomers is even more determined to “age at home,” while at the same time, they are more likely to suffer from multiple chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.1 This confluence of factors makes it…

Over the years, you may have heard it’s good to have different “kinds” of money as you head into retirement. A financial advisor may recommend a combination of tax-deferred and tax-exempt financial products, diversifying your money to help take advantage of the tax benefits both types of products provide.   What many people don’t understand,…

The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the U.S. an overall infrastructure grade of D+. Throughout the next decade, it will take more than $4.5 trillion to fix our aging infrastructure — including upgrades to roads, mass transit, wastewater treatment plants and the electrical grid.1 We’ve reached the mission-critical stage. One industry analyst observed,…

Handling Market Corrections Correctly   Today’s political environment and recent volatility in the U.S. stock markets, particularly February’s correction, caused concern for some investors.   If you’ve met with a financial advisor who designed a strategy to fit your individual financial goals, timeline and tolerance for risk, it’s generally recommended you stay the course.1 But…

The New Tax Law: Things to Consider Who will be affected by the new tax legislation that went into effect Jan. 1? That is a question many are asking.   While “everyone” is likely to see some changes, here’s an idea of how many people fell into each income group. In 2015:1   About 1.4…

Balancing Investor Euphoria With Market Reality Many social media users share nearly all aspects of their lives, from photos of cute kids and pets to their political views. And now, we even are seeing posts from exuberant investors bragging about their investment returns. For example, consider this social media post:1   “I strived to become…

The Future of Medicare and Social Security   There is little doubt that Medicare and Social Security are important programs that help older Americans in retirement, particularly now that so many are living beyond previous life expectancy rates. In fact, past models for savings rates may be failing many older Americans, who represent the only…

ISSUE THEME: Medicare Issue     Standard Article Enrolling in Medicare   Unlike Social Security, the age for Medicare eligibility is the same for everyone: 65 years old, no matter what year you were born. If you have already filed for Social Security benefits by age 65, you will be automatically enrolled for Medicare. If…

A Look at How America Ranks   In his first year in office, President Trump has promoted his “America first” philosophy. This new focus, with its trade protectionism and tough stance on immigration, has somewhat changed the U.S. narrative on a world scale.1   Considering this new emphasis on America first, perhaps it’s worth looking…

Investing in Europe It’s often said that when one asset class falters, others are likely rising. To some extent, this may be occurring with U.S. equities. The stock market correction that started in February amid fears of rising inflation has continued through March with the threat of a global trade war.1   According to Bank…

Investment Themes for This Year In the investment community, all eyes are on inflation this year. Economic analysts at Merrill Lynch anticipate further tightening in the labor market, to the tune of 3.9 percent unemployment by the end of 2018. Along with the tightened labor situation, they also expect personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation rising…